The Missing Piece
by allieisrandom
Summary: An accident changes the lives of the Ritter and Davis families...forever. Story will have both Krisatt and Krunior moments.
1. The Dream

**A/N: This fic starts right after the ending of Season Four Episode 8, Life's Too Short**

Kris remembered almost all the way up to the moment it happened.

She remembered getting out her old overnight bag, the same one she'd had since Camp Lagrange, and making sure that she packed her riding boots, her wallet, and her toothbrush.

She remembered Jean hugging her goodbye and telling her to take care of herself.

She remembered looking back at her beloved Raintree one last time and feeling a little sad.

She remembered seeing the silver porshe come up the road.

She remembered Junior's lips on hers and the excitement of running away with him to forever.

And the last thing that she remembered was the sound of his car radio playing as they sped along down the highway.

_You think I'm pretty_  
><em>Without any makeup on<em>  
><em>You think I'm funny<em>  
><em>When I tell the punchline wrong<em>  
><em>I know you get me<em>  
><em>So I let my walls come down<em>  
><em>Down…<em>

She remembered smiling to herself, as she glanced at her young husband in the driver's seat, thinking that it might be the perfect song for them. He was her valentine. Her love. Her teenage dream.

Little had she realized that sooner or later, you always have to wake up.


	2. Waking Up

Kris peeled open her eyelids. She looked up at something white. It was the celing. She was inside some sort of vehicle. Why wasn't she in the convertible with Junior, listening to the radio and thinking about the new life they were heading towards?

"The girl is waking up."

Kris looked around. There were two men standing over her in blue suits with masks on.

"We don't want her to wake up, put her back under," said one of them.

"Roger that," said the other one. He reached behind Kris's head and did something. Moments later, she was out like a light.

* * *

><p>Kris opened her eyes again. Same view, same voices. Everything was blurry. Only bits and pieces of what was going on made any sense to her.<p>

"Her...concussion...not too serious...left arm...possibly broken...maybe internal bleeding..."

"Good...keep...stable...look...him...not...good..."

"Too bad...airbag...driver's seat...didn't..."

"Look...awake...again...sedatives...NOW..."

* * *

><p>The next time Kris woke up, she was someplace different entirely. The basic elements were the same: everything white, her laying down, strange people all around her talking about strange things.<p>

"So tragic. That beautiful silver car driven right off a bridge."

"At least it landed right side up," said a mournful voice. "I hate to think how bad off the people inside would be if it hadn't been. Especially with it being a convertible."

_Hey_, thought Kris. _These people are talking about a car just like Junior's._

"Hey, do you know if the person who that girl from the car had listed as her emergency contact is related to her or not?"

"No, not related to her. But she's had him listed for four years already, so I'll bet that they're really good friends."

"Who does her boyfriend have listed as his emergency contact?"

"His twenty-year-old sister. Nobody else."

"Oh, lord. My heart breaks for whoever has to make that phone call."

_What's going on?_ thought Kris. Whatever it was, she felt like crying for whatever couple these two people were talking about. Thank goodness that nothing that that would ever happen to her and Junior.

"Actually, I think I'll make that call. What are the names of the people in the car?"

"Kenneth Davis Junior and Kristine Furillo."

Kris's eyes flew open in an instant. She was suddenly able to see the faces of the two doctors talking clearly. She didn't recognize either of them.

"What? That boy...he was Ken Davis's son?" said one of the nurses incredulously. "How exactly was _that_ determined?

"We found his name on the driver's license in his wallet," said the other nurse. "And get this-we found the girl's name on her jockey's license in the car."

_Jockey's license? Huh? _Suddenly, Kris felt better. She didn't have a jockeys' license right now, therefore, there was no way that these people could possibly be talking about her. That explaination made a helluva lot more sense than the stuff that they were saying right now. Junior's car wasn't destroyed. He and Kris were on their way to go get married.

Suddenly, one of the nurse's faces looked shocked. "Oh! She's awake! I'm sorry, Ms. Furillo. Let's get you into your own recovery room." Then she turned to the other nurse. "Why don't you call Ken Davis instead of that poor girl? I'm sure his number can't be that hard to find."

"You're right," said the other nurse. "Good idea. Now quickly...go get her into her room. And whatever you do...don't let her find out what happened. Yet."


	3. Impossible

Kris spent the next little while looking around in confusion. It took her forever (at least it seemed like forever) for her to realize this white building she was in with doctors and nurses walking around in it must be a hospital. And then that was all she knew about anything. Why was her head throbbing? What had the doctors and nurses been talking about when they said that two people got into a bad car crash that were her and Junior but couldn't be her and Junior because one of them had a jockey's license? And most importantly of all, where WAS Junior?

"Hello? I'm here to see Kris Furillo."

Kris nearly sighed with relief when she heard the familiar voice. She opened her mouth to call him over to her but nothing would come out. Her head hurt too much for her to think straight let alone talk.

"What's your name?"

"Pablo Betart."

"I'm afraid you can't see her, sir. Family only."

"I _am_ her family."

"Family here means only blood relatives, spouses, and in-laws. Are you any of those?"

"Yes, she's my niece," Pablo lied, knowing that when it came down to it, Kris had none of the above.

"But you have a different last name."

"She was my sister's daughter," said Pablo. "Besides, I'm listed as her emergency contact. You called me."

"Let me check. Yes."

A new voice entered the conversation. "Is he Kris Furillo's family?"

"Yes."

"Hi, I'm Dr. Benson."

"Pablo Betart."

"I assume you've already been told that Kris was in a bad car accident."

"Yes."

"The good news is that she's come out fairly unscathed. She suffered a concussion, but that should only take a few weeks to recover from. We initially thought that her arm was broken, but it was just fractured."

"What's the bad news?" said Pablo.

There was a pause. "The other person in the car with her-Junior Davis-arrived DOA."

Another pause. Kris's mind started racing. DOA...what did that even mean? She knew it usually meant "dead on arrival," but this was Junior they were talking about. He wasn't dead. No way. He was probably taking the porshe to a mechanic to get fixed or something.

"Oh, no," said Pablo. "Does she know?"

"Not yet. Keep it that way until she's been awake for a while."

"Hello?" Kris heard another familiar voice not nearly as pleasant to hear as Pablo's, but sounded much more worried. "I'm here to see Junior Davis."

Kris desperately wished that Pablo would come in and tell her what was going on. She had never felt so confused in her entire life. People needed to stop acting like Junior was dead. He couldn't be...could he?

"Mr. Davis," said the doctor mournfully. "We were unable to revive your son. I'm so sorry." A pause. "You'll need to come this way so that you can identify him."

Kris heard nothing for a moment but footsteps. Suddenly, she felt terrified. She was desperately clinging now to the thought that the doctors must be mistaken because they had also thought that she had her jockey's license.

"You can go in and see Kris now," said the doctor, apparently to Pablo. "It would help if she could recall some details of the accident, but we won't pressure her since she's still on pain medication for her arm and isn't really thinking clearly at the moment. We would, however, like to give back some of her belongings that were found in the vehicle."

A few seconds later, Kris heard Pablo say, "Her overnight bag? I didn't know they were taking a trip. Hey...wait a minute." He paused. "When did they decide to reinstate her jockeys' license?"

Kris's whole body froze. Her chest and throat tightened. A few seconds later, she fainted.


	4. Anymore

Kris lay there, curled up in a ball on the hospital bed, for the next three days. Eventually Pablo came in and talked to her. It was a comfort to have him there, but she couldn't talk back. All she could do was just lay there with her eyes closed, the words, "Junior is dead" flashing through her aching head every few seconds.

After a few minutes-or maybe it was a few hours, there was no difference anymore-he stepped out of the room to call everyone at Raintree. Matt had been planning on working with some of his horses that morning, but instead he and Jean came to the hospital to see Kris. Even they couldn't make her feel any better.

None of them bothered telling her what had happened. It was obvious that she already knew.

For the next three days, nothing changed. Even though someone was always there with Kris, she could never bring herself to say a word to anyone. All she do was replay the doctor's conversation in her head over and over. Junior had died. He had gotten her a new jockeys' license first. They had been on their way to get married. To start their lives. Not to end his. Her head and her arm were still throbbing, but she didn't care. The physical pain was nothing compared to the emotional aches she was constantly feeling.

"Come on, Kris. Please eat something," pleaded Jean. "You won't be able to leave the hospital until you're off the feeding tube." Then she sighed and started rubbing the younger girl's back. "I know it's hard, honey. I know."

"Dani just called to check on you again, Kris," said Pablo. "She said she'll visit you as soon as you get out. In fact, she said you can recover at her place if you want."

Kris said nothing. She was annoyed that Dani hadn't come to see her or spoken with her since the accident, but at the same time she understood that she couldn't be near the hospital right now.

"That's very sweet of her, but I think it's best if I bring Kris back to Raintree," said Jean. "You and Dani are both out of your houses working all the time, and it would make no sense for her to be at Davis Farms with Ken when Junior isn't even there."

Kris closed her eyes tightly. _Junior wasn't at Davis Farms._ The words themselves made her so sick that she wasn't sure if she would be able to go back there ever again.

"Of course you should bring her back to Raintree," said Pablo. "You're her mother, and it's her home."

Jean sat down on the side of Kris's bed and gently pulled her up into a sitting position. Kris was submissve but hunched over and looked down so she didn't have to look at the world. "Kris, listen to me. You don't need to like the taste of anything you put in your mouth. You just need to start eating again so that we can get you home." Kris looked up slightly. "Come on, Kris. We all miss you. Especially me and the boys. And Wildfire."

That did it. She picked up a spoon with the hand that was connected to her good arm and started taking little, little bites, not even knowing what she was eating. It tasted so dry it might as well have been the shavings from Wildfire's stall. Maybe that was because it was hospital food. Or maybe that was because nothing mattered anymore.


	5. Health Issues

Kris sat up in the hospital bed and smiled at Pablo and the Ritters (including Todd, who was home from boarding school). They were here to take her back home to Raintree. The Ritters had worked together to fix up Matt's old bedroom for Kris and cancelled the dudes so that there wouldn't be too much excitement for her, and Pablo had helped Matt train the young horses for their upcoming races so that Jean could stay with Kris most of the time. Kris still hadn't spoken to her. Or anyone. Her mind simply wasn't ready or even able to accept the fact that Junior was gone-this time forever.

"Are you here to take Kris Furillo home now?" asked the doctor.

"Yes," said Jean, Matt, and Todd in unison.

He nodded. "I need to speak with her alone before she leaves."

Everyone looked at each other, puzzled. "Okay?" said Jean.

"Sure," said Pablo.

"Kris, we'll be right outside," said Matt. Then all four of them stepped out.

"Kris," said the doctor. "You're aware that your only injuries were to your left arm and to your head. Your arm is almost entirely back to normal. To take care of it, you'll just have to do the exercises that I showed you." Kris nodded. She knew what he was talking about. "Because of your concussion, you won't be able to do any strenuous physical activity for another week. No running, no dancing, and definitely no horseback riding."

Kris nodded. She'd actually gotten a concussion before, back when she was still at Camp LaGrange and Pablo asked her to help him train Wildfire. Everything had gone fine until one of the other girls ran up and honked a horn in the colt's face, causing him to buck Kris off. She'd had to stay in the infirmiry for a week and couldn't go to the barn and see Pablo and Wildfire for another week after that. It was the worst two weeks of her entire sentence.

"So, are there any...other health issues you'd like to ask me about?" asked the doctor carefully.

Kris starred at him, suddenly worried. "What do you mean..." her voice was gravelly after several days of not talking "...other health issues?"

The doctor starred at her. "Well, I was thinking that you might be worried that you had a miscarriage in the accident. You didn't." He paused. "You _are_ aware that you're pregnant, aren't you?

Kris froze. She choaked on her own breath. There was no way he had said what he had just said.

"Miss Furillo?" said the doctor again.

Kris nodded. "Yes, of course," her voice crackled out.

"Okay," said the doctor. "Your baby is all right, though. No worse for wear. The airbag seems to have protected you both quite effectively." Kris nodded. "Well, okay. I'll see you in a few weeks for your follow-up visit. Get some rest, and stay healthy. For both your sakes."

Kris nodded again. "Thank you," she whispered. Then she got up and walked outside to where everyone was waiting for her.

"Are you feeling okay?" asked Matt, putting his arm around her shoulders.

Kris gulped. "Headache," she whispered. It was the first time she'd talked to her family since the accident.

"Come here," said Todd. He put his arm around Kris's waist. Together they led her outside the building, Jean and Pablo following closely behind.

Outside, Dani was waiting with her van. Once she saw everyone walking towards her with Kris, she got up and ran to meet them. Kris wordlessly took a step forward and embraced her best friend who should have been her sister-in-law and tightened her hug when Dani broke down into hopless sobs. Matt kept one hand on Kris's shoulder and started rubbing her back, tears in his eyes. Nearby, Pablo put his arm around Jean, who was also crying, and she rested her head on his shoulder for a moment.

"Hey, Kris?" said Todd. "Why aren't _you_ crying? Aren't you upset?"

"She's not crying because she's more upset than all of us put together," Matt whispered.

That was true. To some extent. For the past week Kris had been nothing but depressed, but right now she was just plain numb. Junior was dead. She was pregnant with his child. She had never thought that he would be gone like this, and she's certainly never been planning on being pregnant. With anyone's child. Ever.

"Let's get in the car," said Pablo. They all walked over together, Matt and Dani staying close to Kris and Jean and Pablo staying close together.

"Who's driving?" said Jean.

"I'll drive," said Matt. He squeezed Kris's shoulder and then went up and hopped into the driver's seat.

"I call shotgun," said Todd.

They all climbed into Dani's van. Kris sat in the back row between Dani and Jean, Pablo sat right in front of them. "Kris," said Todd. "What radio station do you want?"

"Just play whatever's on," said Kris.

_Come wake me up_  
><em>Tell me love<em>  
><em>That it's all alright<em>  
><em>Tell me<em>  
><em>I'm having<em>  
><em>Just a<em>  
><em>Bad dream<em>  
><em>Tonight<em>  
><em>Bad dream<em>  
><em>Tonight<em>  
><em>Come wake me up<em>  
><em>Come wake me up<em>  
><em>Come wake me up<em>  
><em>Come wake me up<em>  
><em>Come wake me up<em>

Kris closed her eyes and pinched her own shoulder just in case. She kept her eyes closed the whole way home, desperately hoping that this entire past week was nothing but a horrible nightmare, that she had really just fallen asleep on Junior's shoulder and that she was about to wake up in front of the wedding chapel of their dreams.


	6. Sound Mind and Body

Here she was. Back at Raintree again.

"Hey, Kris?" said Todd. "Want to go out to the barn and see Wildfire?"

Kris smiled a little. That was the best thing about having her family back: no matter what was going on, there was always _someone_ who knew what she needed.

"I think I will," said Kris. She got up.

"Don't get up on his back," said Pablo. "You already have a concussion."

Kris laughed a little inside. Then her mind froze again when she realized how completely ordinary this seemed. It was as if she'd just gone to the hospital for a while and now she was home and everything was back to normal. But in reality, it was anything but.

Kris walked into the barn and whistled for Wildfire, just like she always had. He poked his head out of the stall and his ears pricked up. When he saw Kris, he tossed his head and neighed for her. "Sorry, boy," said Kris. "I've got no carrots this time."

Wildifre tossed his head impatiently. When she got close enough to him, he nuzzled her shoulder. Then he stopped and just looked at her as if to say, "Where'd you go?"

"Hey," said Kris. "I promised you I'd be back! I just never thought it would be this soon. Kris sighed deeply and put her head down on the side of the stall door, letting Wildfire quietly nuzzle her chest, Junior's confession of undying love for her ringing in her ears. Especially her last words to him before they ran away: "I choose you".

Kris looked out the door into the arena. Matt and Pablo were standing at the rail together. Matt was holding the stop watch. A horse breezed past them being ridden by an exercise rider. Pablo and Matt said something to each other, Pablo nodded, and then he went into the ring to say something to the rider. It was somewhat nice to see her two favorite horse trainers working together again, but at the same time it was such a normal everyday Raintree scene that Kris felt like she was viewing it from behind a thick wall of glass.

"He's gone, Wildfire," she said. "I will never see him ever again. He will never _be_ ever again." She still wasn't comprehending the enormity of that fact. She wasn't sure she wanted to.

* * *

><p>Up in the house, Jean, Todd, and Dani were in the kitchen. "Thanks for the cookies, Mom," said Todd.<p>

"You're welcome," said Jean. "Hey, why don't you take some down to the riding ring for Matt and Pablo?"

"Sure," said Todd. "Should I go bring some to Kris, too?"

"Sure, that's a good idea," said Jean. "But leave her alone unless she clearly wants you to stay with her."

"Okay," said Todd. He left.

"Do you want some cookies, Dani?" asked Jean. "Dani?"

Dani was sitting quietly at the table, tears in her eyes. She stood up, shook her head, and walked out the door.

Half an hour later, Dani and her van were at Davis Farms. She punched in the security code and walked in the door. "Dad?" called Dani.

No answer.

"Dad? It's me, Dani."

She looked around. In the dining hall. In the living area. Even in his bedroom. Then she heard a small grunt coming from the office and headed towards it. Of course. Where else would he be? "Dad," called Dani. Then she opened the door and walked in. Of course. There he was. His face was wet with tears, but other than that, he looked like his normal, businesslike self.

"Dani," he said coldly. "Come in. I was hoping I'd see you today."

Suddenly, she felt a little afraid. She walked in slowly and sat down in front of his desk. "I'm sorry I haven't come to visit you since Junior died. I've just...I guess I've been avoiding it."

"It's all right," said Ken. "I understand. We can talk all about it in a little while. But first, we have some business to discuss."

Dani rolled her eyes. "I already _told_ you, Dad. I may consider racing Tigress Eye with you someday. But not right now. And in any case, you're not getting me to come back here. Davis Farms is all yours."

Ken raised his eyebrows. "Really? That's not what Junior's will says."

Dani's mouth dropped open slightly. Her jaw hit the floor when she read the words, "I, Kenneth Walter Davis Junior, of sound mind and body, wish first and foremost for my non-existant debts to be paid off by my estate. I leave my most prized posession, my porshe, to my sister Danielle Maria Davis, along with my entire share in Davis Farms, which is fifty-four percent. To my best friend, Matthew James Ritter, I leave everything in the two bottom drawers of my dresser. I leave everything else I own to my father, Kenneth Stratford Davis Senior. Lastly, I wish that nothing I own of any financial or sentimental value whatsoever be given to my mother, Isabelle Matiya Ferris, for reasons which are well known to her."

"He...he must have written this _long_ before yesterday afternoon!" said Dani. "No! No way am I taking back over half of the shares in this place! I'm signing these shares back over to you, Dad. You're on your own!"

Ken looked a little sad when she said that. But all he said was, "Fine. Go ahead. What are you going to do in another decade when _I_ kick the bucket?"

Suddenly, Dani froze. The reality of Junior being gone, already starting to set in for her, reached up and smacked her across the face.

"That's right, Dani," said Ken. "You're the only one left. Like it or not, in the end, this place will be all _yours_."


	7. In Your Face

It seemed like just an ordinary day when Kris woke up in her bed at Raintree that morning. She was thinking about how she needed to go to the bathroom, take some painkillers, and take a shower. She hadn't had once since she got home from the hospital.

Then she remembered that he was gone.

As she ran her fingers through the lather in her long dark hair, Kris thought about what she would do when she got out of the shower. She would go down to the kitchen. Surely Jean had something left over from breakfast. Then she'd go out to the practice ring and help Matt with the youngsters. She couldn't ride yet because of her injuries, but hopefully there was something she could do. And at some point this morning, she would _definitely_ need to call Junior.

Then she remembered again.

After breakfast, Kris went into the living room to rest on the couch for a little while. Todd was there playing his video game. "Hey, Kris," he said. "Want to play Road Racers with me?"

"Sure," she said, not really feeling like doing anything else.

"Cool," said Todd. "I get the red car with the flames. Do you want the black stang or the silver convertible?"

Again.

"Remember, you need to make sure that your car stays ahead of mine," said Todd. "If you get too far behind you'll lose, if you crash into something you lose points, and if your car goes off of the track, you lose a life."

"You know what, Todd," said Kris? "I really can't play this game anymore. I'm sorry. I think...I have to go out and help Matt and Pablo with the horses."

"Pablo isn't here," said Todd. "The Davis's need him now more than ever."

Again.

"A minute twenty-two," said Matt. "Not bad, Striker!" he patted the colt's neck.

"Definitely a winner in the making," said Kris. She smiled and looked at Matt, then at the young horse. Now that she was out in her element, helping Matt work with the horses, nothing else seemed to matter. Not even...

The fact that Junior was gone.

Kris thought that if that day had been a trail ride, it would have been very slow and calm and filled with branches periodically smacking her in the face.

* * *

><p>Dani stood outside the tow lot and looked at what was left of Junior's-now her-porshe. It had taken a nose dive and then been run into on the driver's side by some other car-which the police had said was what had "finished [Junior] off". When it came down to it, about half of the car had to be replaced.<p>

"You know, it would be a lot cheeper to just buy a new porshe," said Ken.

"No," snapped Dani coldly.

"Fine," said Ken. "I understand. I'd give you the money to have it fixed, but of course now my money is 54% yours anyway so that won't be necessary."

Dani hated the thought of using Davis Farms money to get Junior's porshe fixed, but because she didn't have nearly enough money from the vet clinic, she relented.

"Dani?" said Ken.

Dani closed her eyes to hide the tears forming inside them. "What?"

"I know you're doing it for Junior," he said.

Dani sighed and put her arms around her father. She let him hold her for a while. No matter what else might be going on, for now, they were all that the other one had left.


	8. Over It

Two weeks after the accident, Kris woke up knowing that something was different. All of her injuries from the accident had healed. She was ready to get back on the track. Eagerly, she jumped out of bed and pulled on a blue tank top, her riding pants, and her riding boots. It briefly crossed her mind that she was pregnant, but then she remembered that jockeys rode during their first trimester all the time, so there was no reason to do anything different for the time being. Then she put it back out of her mind. She couldn't deal with her pregnancy just yet. She had barely finished dealing with Junior's death.

But she WAS finished with that. Right? _Definitely_, she told herself.

"Good morning, Jean," called Kris cheerfully.

"Hey, Kris," she said, somewhat surprised by Kris's happy demeanor so soon after her fiance had died. "I've made some hot oatmeal for the dudes. Want some?"

"Mmm, sounds delicious," said Kris. "But I've got to get down to the track to help Matt with the youngsters. You got some cereal bars or anything like that?"

"Are you sure you're ready to get back to work?" asked Jean.

"Yep," said Kris. "The doctors said two weeks, and plus, I feel great."

Jean looked hard at Kris. "I know that all your _physical_ injuries from the accident have healed," she said carefully. "But are you sure you're ready to get back to work?"

"Yes," said Kris, a slight edge of irritation in her voice. It was the closest she had ever come to snapping at Jean.

Jean hesitated. "Well, okay," she said. "Take a granola bar to eat on the way."

"Sure, thanks," said Kris.

"Good morning, Kris," said Todd. "Want to play checkers?"

"Can't," said Kris. "Sorry. Maybe later." She dashed out the door and started jogging over to the practice track.

"Oh, hey Kris," said Matt. "You here to watch?"

Kris grinned. "Actually, I'm here to ride."

Matt raised his eyebrows in shock. "Really? That's great. But are you sure?"

"_Yes_," said Kris. "Why does everybody suddenly think I'm too weak or sick to ride today?"

"We don't," said Matt. "We just want to make sure."

"Well, I'm already sure," said Kris. "Who should I ride?"

"How about Flame?" said Matt. "The exercise girl is riding Miguel, and they need somebody to race against. Plus, Flame could use the workout."

"Sure," said Kris, barely having heard what Matt said. "Let's get started." She strapped on her riding helmet and went to go find Flame.

The morning got away from them as quickly as it had come. Kris galloped Flame around the track around five times, then she rode three of the other horses for the same amount of time. Matt sat at the rail keeping time and helping her figure out what went wrong whenever there was a problem and how to fix it.

Afterwards, Kris said, "Okay, who's next?"

Matt laughed. "Lunchtime's next. Mom's making fried chicken."

"Can't we just grab some sandwiches or something?" said Kris. "We've still got four more horses to work."

"Two, actually," said Matt. "Speak Now and Last Kiss have the day off."

"Well, Sparks Fly and Dear John don't," said Kris. "Which one should I ride first?"

"Okay, Kris," said Matt. "I get that you're dealing with Junior's death, but..."

"I am _not_," snapped Kris.

Matt was taken aback. "Kris, _I_ haven't even recovered yet. There's no way that you have."

"Yes, Matt," said Kris. "I have." Matt looked into her eyes and suddenly realized how desperate they were, pleading him not to force the issue.

"Okay," he finally said. "Why don't you get Sparks Fly ready and warm her up? I'll go get us some sandwiches."

Kris smiled gratefully. "Will do." Then she left.

When Matt returned with their lunch, Pablo was there waiting at the rail. "I thought you might need some help today. But I can see you've already got some."

"Yep," said Matt. "She's been out here since six a.m.." He sighed and went to go stand next to Pablo. Together they watched Kris collect the horse's energy as she came down the short side, then open it up again for the home stretch. The horse's nostrils were flaring, so were Kris's. Both of them seemed to care about absoluetely nothing except for running faster and harder. Both Matt and Pablo almost said something about how hard they were working, but when they got down to the short side Kris collected him again and their gallop semed to calm down slightly. But Kris's expression remained hard and determined.

"How does she look to you?" said Pablo.

Matt sighed, and knowing that the other man was also one of Kris's best friends, decided to tell him. "I don't get it. All day long she's been doing everything to convince me that she's done dealing with Junior's death. She hasn't even _started_ dealing with it."

Actually, Pablo had been talking about the horse. But he said, "Kris isn't trying to fool you. She's trying to fool herself."

"Really?" said Matt. Then he realized that it was obvious that Pablo was right. "I wonder how long she'll be able to keep it up."

"Probably not much longer," said Pablo. "One of these days, she'll just crash. And when that happens she'll need all of us there to pick her up." Then he hesitated slightly. "You more than anyone."


	9. Failed Escape

**A/N: Sorry I haven't updated this in so long. I've been pretty busy with some other stuff :/ enjoy!**

Kris sat on the fence eating an apple and smiled at Flame loping joyfully around the pasture. Wildfire was in the adjacent pasture munching happily on some grass. In the exercise ring, a young filly was getting a workout from one of the exercise riders. Kris could hear Jean in the background haggling with the feed supplier and Todd calling out, "Hey, Kris! For the next race you should wear as much yellow as possible. The Dickersons' horse HATES it!"

"Sure thing!" said Kris.

"Finally relaxing?" said Matt, coming up behind her.

"Hey, you," said Kris. She smiled as Matt jumped up onto the fence beside her. "I'm just glad that things are finally back to normal."

Matt tightened his jaw. Junior had died only three weeks ago. Nothing was even close to normal yet. He couldn't understand why Kris needed to pretend that it was so badly.

"Who else needs a workout today?" asked Kris.

"Love Song For No One and Eclipse," said Matt.

"I'll ride them both," said Kris. "God, I am SO glad that your mom decided to cancel the dudes once and for all!"

"After both of those wins last week, I was hoping she would," said Matt. Then, knowing she would probably hate him for asking her again, he said, "Are you sure you don't want some time off?"

"_Matt_," said Kris. "Junior did _not_ get me my jockey's license reinstated so that I could sit around at home feeling sorry for myself. He got it for me so that I could win. Therefore, that's what I should be doing."

Matt wanted to say, "He got it for you so you could be happy. And right now, you're too busy lying to yourself to really be happy." But instead, he kept his mouth shut.

"Kris?" said Matt a few minutes later.

"Yeah?"

"What pasture did you decide to put Flame in?"

Kris looked at him quizzically. "He's right..." Then suddenly, she realized that he wasn't in the pasture they were looking at anymore. "Oh, crap," said Kris. She swung herself down from the fence. "Matt, Flame's escaped!"

Matt jumped down. "No way! Mom! Flame's lose!"

"I'll take the truck and go after him!" said Jean.

"I'll take Wildfire," said Kris.

"And I'll take Taz," said Matt. Without stopping to say another word to each other, Matt and Kris ran off to get their bridles. They hadn't a moment to lose.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Dani," said Ken. "Are you finally here to take responsibility for your multimillion dollar racing business?"<p>

Dani tightened her grip on the clipboard she was holding. "Actually, I'm here because Noah's vaccinating the horses," she said in a serious, businesslike manner. Although secretly she was also there to check up on how Ken was running Davis Farms.

"Okay," said Ken. "I wouldn't bother charging any money for them. You'd be charging _yourself_." Suddenly, his eyebrows raised. "What the...some horse just came galloping through the gates!"

Dani turned and looked. "Flame!" she exclaimed. "Come here, boy!" But he galloped right past her. "That was weird."

"I'll bet Junior would have caught him," said Ken. "Flame was like a child to him."

Startled, Dani looked into his father's sad eyes. In that moment, he looked shockingly...human.

"Tell Noah to hurry the fuck up and make sure to bring any concerns to the trainer," said Ken, suddenly snapping into his usual harsh persona. "I have to get back up to the office and make some calls."

Dani rolled her eyes and shook her head, causing the black cowboy hat she was wearing to slip a tiny bit. She reached one hand up to readjust it. She knew it looked like a strange thing to wear and didn't match her professional attire at all, but wearing it was one of the small things that brought her comfort and enabled her to function throughout her daily life. About a year ago-such an insignificant yet infinite amount of time-Dani had gotten the hat as a present from Junior who had gotten it as a present from RJ. It meant more than ever to her now.

Dani's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of hoofbeats as Matt and Kris came clattering up the road on their horses. She quickly straightened herself out and began walking towards them. "Are you looking for..."

At the exact same time, Matt and Kris both said, "Hey, have you seen..."

"Flame?" said all three of them.

Dani smiled. "He went that way," she pointed.

"Thanks," said Matt. he and Kris cantered off in the direction that Dani had pointed.

"Why would he go this way?" said Matt. "I don't understand. It's nowhere near the barn, or the other horses, or even the house."

"I don't know," said Kris. "Look, there are his hoofbeats."

"I see them!" said Matt. "And they're leading..." he froze when he suddenly realized where they led to. "Oh, no."

"What," said Kris, already trotting ahead on Wildfire down the path. Suddenly, she and Wildfire both froze.

There was Flame. Standing contendedly right in the middle of the Davis Family cemetary.

Matt jumped down from Taz. "I'll go get him."

"No!" said Kris. She jumped off and handed Wildfire's reins to Matt. The whole graveyard had a black metal fence around it about three feet high, and there was no opening she could see. How had he even gotten in there?

"Flame!" said Kris, quickly scaling the fence. Flame didn't look up. He was sniffing one of the tombstones. "Flame, stop!" said Kris. "Why did you jump this fence? There's nothing in here, not even grass!" When she got closer to Flame and read the words on his tombstome, her jaw hit the floor.

**Kenneth Walter Davis "Junior"  
>1987-2008<br>****Loved By Many  
>Gone But Not Forgotten<strong>

And without even realizing it, that's when Kris finally started to cry.


	10. The Drawers

Junior's death throwing itself in Kris's face hurt worse than any physical injury from the accident ever could. With the tombstone right in front of her, it was now impossible to deny. All that she could process was the words stuck in her head like a broken record. "Junior is dead, Junior is dead, Junior is dead, Junior is dead..." She was vaguely able to take in the softness of Flame's muzzle against her shoulder and the warmth of Matt's arms around her back.

After a little while, Kris became more aware of her surroundings. "Matt...why?" she whispered. She wondered why her voice sounded so weird, and then she realized it was because she was shaking and crying. "Just driving along the highway, no warning, no chance to say goodbye...not even one moment." She suddenly felt rage boiling inside her. "WHY?"

"Kris? Matt?" Kris heard Dani call out. "What's going..."

Matt turned to look at Dani. Kris saw her friend's pale expression out of the corner of her eye. "Let's go up to the house."

"What about all our horses?" said Matt. Kris noticed that Taz and Wildfire were tied to some nearby trees.

"I'll get one of the grooms to take care of them," said Dani. "Right now, just come with me."

Slowly, with Dani supporting her right side and Matt supporting her left, Kris began walking up to the Davis Mansion. When they arrived at the front steps, her feet suddenly turned to cement. "I...I can't."

"What?" said Matt.

"She can't go in his house," Dani realized. "You need to go in, though, Matt. Junior left you everything in his two bottom dresser drawers in his will."

"Really?" said Matt. "All his favorite things are in there." He suddenly looked touched and a little teary-eyed. "Did he leave you anything, Dani?"

Dani scoffed. "Only his porshe and his _entire_ share in Davis Farms."

Matt blinked. "Wow. That seems kind of obvious now that I think about it but..._wow_."

"You should go get his-your-things," said Dani. "I'll stay out here with Kris."

"Sure," said Matt. He squeezed Kris's shoulder before getting up. He took a deep breath and entered the Davis mansion.

"What's with the hat?" asked Kris, suddenly noticing that Dani was wearing the odd yet familiar black cowboy hat.

Dani sighed and sat down by Kris. "Junior gave it to me and...it was RJ's."

"Oh yeah," said Kris. "I was wondering where I'd seen that before." Then suddenly, she looked to her friend and realized that in the past year, they had both lost the man they were in love with to a hideous and completely unpredictable injury. What a horrible thing for them to have in common.

"How can things like this happen to perfectly good people?" said Kris tearfully. "How? Why?"

Dani closed her own tear-filled eyes and wrapped her arms around Kris, letting her cry on her shoulder. There was nothing more that either of them could say.

* * *

><p>Matt pulled both drawers out of the dresser and began to carefully load the contents into a moving box that Ken had given him. Everything that had ever meant anything to his best friend was in here. The stuffed horse that Junior carried around when they were in preeschool. The currycomb he used to comb Scooter, his first pony. The pinecones he and Matt collected when they were hiking through the woods with Henry when they were little. A picture of his mother Isabelle. An action figure he'd won in sixth grade for winning a burping contest.<p>

"Junior, you're such a goof," Matt whispered. "You can't be dead. You just..."

Matt closed his eyes and shook his head slightly. _Grow up, Matt,_ he thought to himself. This was no time to get all emotional. He sighed as he began to put the few car magazines that Junior had kept over the years into the box, including the one that they looked at when they were twelve that Junior had circled all the porshe's in and said, "That's my car, Matt. Someday, I'll get a car just like that one. And it'll be all mine! I'll let you ride in it as long as you promise not to eat in it or spill your drink. But no girls are gonna be allowed in it, ever. Except for Dani, and she'll have to pay!" Matt wondered what Kris would think of that story.

Suddenly, Matt's eyes shifted to what had been underneath the magazine in the drawer, then widened with shock. "Huh? This can't be..."

He was looking at several stacks, bound together with rubber bands, of thousand-dollar bills. He moved some more things aside. The whole bottom of the drawer was covered with them. The same went for the other drawer. On top of one of the stacks was a note:

"Hey! What do you think you're doing, going through all my stuff? Unless I'm dead-which I'd better not be-hands off. If I am, then the only person who is allowed to be going through these drawers is Matt Ritter. Matt, I know you never would have accepted this from me while I was still alive. And this is my emergency stash, so I probably never would have given it to you anyway. But now, it's for you. This is for you to rebuild Raintree just like you vowed you were going to the night of the illegal match race. Get out there and give Dani a run for her money! Literally! Yours, Junior Davis."


End file.
